Question:
1) I got a PACE digibox. It works just fine and looks OK, but I was really hoping for a Panasonic box to go with the rest of my equipment. Is the Panasonic box preferable in any way other than aesthetics?
2) The box is outputting an RGB signal, which I am sending via my DVD player to the RGB SCART on my widescreen TV. The TV is pretty good at recognising anamorphic broadcasts and switching from 4:3 to 'Wide' mode and back again. However, when viewing 4:3 broadcasts, the TV will occasionally switch from 4:3 to 'Wide' mode for a couple of seconds. Any thoughts as to why it would do this?
1. They're all good boxes, apparently. Choice comes down to aesthetics only. I got a slimline Sony box.
2. Depends on the Sky channel you're watching.. some channels control the switching perfectly, varying it between the programme and the adverts, if they are different. Other channels are rubbish, and get it wrong.
1) The Panny boxes are far faster in terms of EPG navigation/interactive content than the others (except the Pace Sky+ boxes) When you press the "TV Guide" button, the resultsa re displayed immediately, rather than the half second wait I have seen on some brands of digibox. Also, the programs fly past on the search and scan banner incredibly quickly...I prefer this high responsiveness over aesthetics any day...Also, ours has only crashed perhaps once in an entire year.....my olds have a 1st gen Pace box that is as buggy as hell....although a forced s/w update normally clears things up for a time.....
I have heard that the Panny boxes are prone to overheating, leading to pic deterioration, but I'm yet to witness anything on ours, and it is coming on to a year old....
2)Have you set the settings in System Setup/Picture Settings to 16:9?
Just make sure it's turned on like this, and the box will output an anamorphic signal if one is broadcast, and default to a full-frame 4:3 one when there is no widescreen flag...as for your TV, I would imagine this is dependent on the model.
Mine is connected via SCART, and the TV automatically switches to 16:9 when there is a signal present, but defaults to whatever zoom mode I used last if the program is not anamorphic...
HTH :)
Yes, I have the box set to 16:9. As I said before, it has no problem switching the TV to 16:9 (or 'Wide') mode during anamorphic broadcasts. The problem only occasionally comes when watching a 4:3 broadcast, and the TV will switch momentarily to 'Wide' mode, then back again. After a while of watching, this stops, so it's not a huge problem.
I don't get any of the pauses that you refer to. My PACE box seems very zippy, so I guess I should be happy! :)
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
Originally posted by craig1912
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
Sounds normal to me if it was an overseas game that are mostly still in 4:3.
Originally posted by craig1912
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
...I watch my footy on a projector and find these 'wavy lines' bloody annoying...why can't they just make them black!
...and why can't they show 'widescreen' footy from Europe, I bet a lot of European tv station show their transmissions in widescreen?!
The lack of w/s on overseas football is annoying would prefer them to broadcast in 4.3 (so I can use the smart zoom on my Sony w/s).
In terms of Sky boxes the Panasonic appears to be best (my sister has one), but if you have Sony for the rest of your kit go for that as it matches also nice and slim (half the height of others).
You may have trouble getting these unless you go via and independent installer as Sky direct try and fob you off with the less popular / good makes.
Oh well, too late to change it now. Besides, the PACE box does the job perfectly well, looks pretty neat and only cost me £1.
Am I right in thinking that I could not have taken advantage of this deal if I had gone to an independent installer?
Oh, and one more question...when I hit 'TV guide' or 'Services', or if I scan up and down through the channel banner, the results are instant. The only pause I get is after selecting a channel - the screen goes blue for about 0.5 seconds. Not really a huge bother, but is the Panasonic really any quicker than this?
You could have probably chosen which box you wanted, if you went through an independent installer, but you would have paid more than £1. The deals vary, and there is usually a £30 deal running, instead of £60...
It's about £30 if you go for the full package (£38) for one month
Edit: Just found one who'll do it for £20 :thumbs: I don't mind paying £19 extra to be guaranteed a Panny box :)
Originally posted by Jay
Edit: Just found one who'll do it for £20 :thumbs:
Nice one! And the best bit of having a local chap install it, is they're usually a decent bloke, who'll work with you when it comes to laying the cable and drilling holes.. the official Sky blokes tend to stick to the rules and pay no attention to your aesthetic preferences..
OK, now I feel rubbish. Wish I'd gone with an independent installer, but I just didn't know.
Anyway, back to the original question - do the channels appear instantly on the Panasonic box? Or is there a slight pause? Also, does it have twin SCARTS and a stereo audio output? Will SKY even consider swapping it over for me?
This is not uncomon happens regularly when watching mtv with borders etc.
does anybody know if you can change your ntl digital box? i am 5 months into my contract but my box is big, ugly and frankly i want a better looking one
where do i stand?
Originally posted by SithLordSi
Anyway, back to the original question - do the channels appear instantly on the Panasonic box? Or is there a slight pause? Also, does it have twin SCARTS and a stereo audio output? Will SKY even consider swapping it over for me?
Mine is pretty quick. With my amstrad there were several moments where I was just waiting for the TV Guide to come up, or for it to find the channel. Granted it's only about a second or 2 but you still notice it. On my panny though it comes up more or less instantly. I can literally press, as an example, the tv guide button, 1 (all programs) and say 205 and by the time I'm done it'll have scrolled down to E4. The only time I've noticed it a little slow is when you're looking at the listings for programmes 4 days+, where it takes about a second for them to come up - but that's hardly worth complaining about.
I can't recommend the Panasonic box enough. Funnily enough every single independant installer I spoke to, when I asked if I could choose my own box they all asked if I wanted the Panasonic - 'cos that's what everyone asks for :clap:
Yes, it has twin scarts AND stereo output too :D Sky may swap it for you if it develops a fault :norty: but then I think you may be in the same boat as to get what the installer already has. And he'll also check yours before replacing it.
Edit: Just went and checked it again, it's instant. But sometimes when you do select a channel there (sometimes, pretty rare) a half a second delay before the channel comes up - which I put down to the way MPEG works (ie the full frame is sent every 15 frame at least, all the rest are just updates, thus it should take a maximum of a half a second for you to see anything)
Originally posted by Jay
Yes, it has twin scarts AND stereo output too As does my Sony - which also changes channel instantly. *shrug* I'm happy...
I did want the Sony originally, except I hear that it crashes loads and now they don't do it 'cos Sony and Sky had a disagreement
Umm.. never crashed on me. Not so much as a hiccup. :clap:
Yeah, to be honest the Panasonic sounds identical to the PACE box in almost every respect. Now granted, I've not seen the Panny in action, but my box does seem pretty speedy. I never get any sort of delay when scolling through programmes or bringing up the TV guide, and only a half a second delay at the most when waiting for a channel to appear.
I have noticed one thing though - I get a faint crackling noise in the centre/left speaker on some programmes, usually when there is heavy bass. I didn't notice this at first, so maybe it's something that's developed recently. It's hardly noticeable unless you listen for it, but it's definitely there. Anyone else notice this? Is it likely to be my dish or my box? Reception strength is around the midway point, and reception quality around the 2/3 point.
2) The box is outputting an RGB signal, which I am sending via my DVD player to the RGB SCART on my widescreen TV. The TV is pretty good at recognising anamorphic broadcasts and switching from 4:3 to 'Wide' mode and back again. However, when viewing 4:3 broadcasts, the TV will occasionally switch from 4:3 to 'Wide' mode for a couple of seconds. Any thoughts as to why it would do this?
Answers:
1. They're all good boxes, apparently. Choice comes down to aesthetics only. I got a slimline Sony box.
2. Depends on the Sky channel you're watching.. some channels control the switching perfectly, varying it between the programme and the adverts, if they are different. Other channels are rubbish, and get it wrong.
Answers:
1) The Panny boxes are far faster in terms of EPG navigation/interactive content than the others (except the Pace Sky+ boxes) When you press the "TV Guide" button, the resultsa re displayed immediately, rather than the half second wait I have seen on some brands of digibox. Also, the programs fly past on the search and scan banner incredibly quickly...I prefer this high responsiveness over aesthetics any day...Also, ours has only crashed perhaps once in an entire year.....my olds have a 1st gen Pace box that is as buggy as hell....although a forced s/w update normally clears things up for a time.....
I have heard that the Panny boxes are prone to overheating, leading to pic deterioration, but I'm yet to witness anything on ours, and it is coming on to a year old....
2)Have you set the settings in System Setup/Picture Settings to 16:9?
Just make sure it's turned on like this, and the box will output an anamorphic signal if one is broadcast, and default to a full-frame 4:3 one when there is no widescreen flag...as for your TV, I would imagine this is dependent on the model.
Mine is connected via SCART, and the TV automatically switches to 16:9 when there is a signal present, but defaults to whatever zoom mode I used last if the program is not anamorphic...
HTH :)
Answers:
Yes, I have the box set to 16:9. As I said before, it has no problem switching the TV to 16:9 (or 'Wide') mode during anamorphic broadcasts. The problem only occasionally comes when watching a 4:3 broadcast, and the TV will switch momentarily to 'Wide' mode, then back again. After a while of watching, this stops, so it's not a huge problem.
I don't get any of the pauses that you refer to. My PACE box seems very zippy, so I guess I should be happy! :)
Answers:
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
Answers:
Originally posted by craig1912
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
Sounds normal to me if it was an overseas game that are mostly still in 4:3.
Answers:
Originally posted by craig1912
I have mine set to 16:9 and it generally works OK.
I did notice a problem last night for the first time. It only happened on ITV showing the football where it had funny black & white wavy lines down each side and the picture appeared to be 4;3 format in the middle.
If I switch the system settings to 4:3 it cured the problem.
Is this just a dodgy broadcast?
...I watch my footy on a projector and find these 'wavy lines' bloody annoying...why can't they just make them black!
...and why can't they show 'widescreen' footy from Europe, I bet a lot of European tv station show their transmissions in widescreen?!
Answers:
The lack of w/s on overseas football is annoying would prefer them to broadcast in 4.3 (so I can use the smart zoom on my Sony w/s).
In terms of Sky boxes the Panasonic appears to be best (my sister has one), but if you have Sony for the rest of your kit go for that as it matches also nice and slim (half the height of others).
You may have trouble getting these unless you go via and independent installer as Sky direct try and fob you off with the less popular / good makes.
Answers:
Oh well, too late to change it now. Besides, the PACE box does the job perfectly well, looks pretty neat and only cost me £1.
Am I right in thinking that I could not have taken advantage of this deal if I had gone to an independent installer?
Oh, and one more question...when I hit 'TV guide' or 'Services', or if I scan up and down through the channel banner, the results are instant. The only pause I get is after selecting a channel - the screen goes blue for about 0.5 seconds. Not really a huge bother, but is the Panasonic really any quicker than this?
Answers:
You could have probably chosen which box you wanted, if you went through an independent installer, but you would have paid more than £1. The deals vary, and there is usually a £30 deal running, instead of £60...
Answers:
It's about £30 if you go for the full package (£38) for one month
Edit: Just found one who'll do it for £20 :thumbs: I don't mind paying £19 extra to be guaranteed a Panny box :)
Answers:
Originally posted by Jay
Edit: Just found one who'll do it for £20 :thumbs:
Nice one! And the best bit of having a local chap install it, is they're usually a decent bloke, who'll work with you when it comes to laying the cable and drilling holes.. the official Sky blokes tend to stick to the rules and pay no attention to your aesthetic preferences..
Answers:
OK, now I feel rubbish. Wish I'd gone with an independent installer, but I just didn't know.
Anyway, back to the original question - do the channels appear instantly on the Panasonic box? Or is there a slight pause? Also, does it have twin SCARTS and a stereo audio output? Will SKY even consider swapping it over for me?
Answers:
This is not uncomon happens regularly when watching mtv with borders etc.
Answers:
does anybody know if you can change your ntl digital box? i am 5 months into my contract but my box is big, ugly and frankly i want a better looking one
where do i stand?
Answers:
Originally posted by SithLordSi
Anyway, back to the original question - do the channels appear instantly on the Panasonic box? Or is there a slight pause? Also, does it have twin SCARTS and a stereo audio output? Will SKY even consider swapping it over for me?
Mine is pretty quick. With my amstrad there were several moments where I was just waiting for the TV Guide to come up, or for it to find the channel. Granted it's only about a second or 2 but you still notice it. On my panny though it comes up more or less instantly. I can literally press, as an example, the tv guide button, 1 (all programs) and say 205 and by the time I'm done it'll have scrolled down to E4. The only time I've noticed it a little slow is when you're looking at the listings for programmes 4 days+, where it takes about a second for them to come up - but that's hardly worth complaining about.
I can't recommend the Panasonic box enough. Funnily enough every single independant installer I spoke to, when I asked if I could choose my own box they all asked if I wanted the Panasonic - 'cos that's what everyone asks for :clap:
Yes, it has twin scarts AND stereo output too :D Sky may swap it for you if it develops a fault :norty: but then I think you may be in the same boat as to get what the installer already has. And he'll also check yours before replacing it.
Edit: Just went and checked it again, it's instant. But sometimes when you do select a channel there (sometimes, pretty rare) a half a second delay before the channel comes up - which I put down to the way MPEG works (ie the full frame is sent every 15 frame at least, all the rest are just updates, thus it should take a maximum of a half a second for you to see anything)
Answers:
Originally posted by Jay
Yes, it has twin scarts AND stereo output too As does my Sony - which also changes channel instantly. *shrug* I'm happy...
Answers:
I did want the Sony originally, except I hear that it crashes loads and now they don't do it 'cos Sony and Sky had a disagreement
Answers:
Umm.. never crashed on me. Not so much as a hiccup. :clap:
Answers:
Yeah, to be honest the Panasonic sounds identical to the PACE box in almost every respect. Now granted, I've not seen the Panny in action, but my box does seem pretty speedy. I never get any sort of delay when scolling through programmes or bringing up the TV guide, and only a half a second delay at the most when waiting for a channel to appear.
I have noticed one thing though - I get a faint crackling noise in the centre/left speaker on some programmes, usually when there is heavy bass. I didn't notice this at first, so maybe it's something that's developed recently. It's hardly noticeable unless you listen for it, but it's definitely there. Anyone else notice this? Is it likely to be my dish or my box? Reception strength is around the midway point, and reception quality around the 2/3 point.
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